News From SHASS

Sadhana Lolla is majoring in computer science and minoring in mathematics and literature.

Sadhana Lolla named 2024 Gates Cambridge Scholar

Julia Mongo | Office of Distinguished Fellowships

February 27, 2024

The MIT senior will pursue graduate studies in technology policy at Cambridge University.

Lydia Brosnahan (left) helped individuals who took part in beta testing for a virtual reality game that was part of “The Invisible College” project by CAST Distinguished Visiting Artist Matthew Ritchie.

Faces of MIT: Lydia Brosnahan

Katy Dandurand | MIT Human Resources

February 23, 2024

The associate producer shares how arts initiatives bring different departments together in collaboration and community.

Burchard Scholars will attend seminar dinners with members of the SHASS faculty, during which they will have the chance to engage with the faculty and one another.

Thirty-five outstanding MIT students selected as Burchard Scholars for 2024

Benjamin Daniel | School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

February 21, 2024

Undergraduates selected for the competitive program enjoy a seminar series and conversations over dinners with distinguished faculty.

Mi-Eun Kim (seated), pianist and lecturer at MIT Music and Theater Arts, and student Holden Mui interact with the Steinway Spirio.

Play it again, Spirio

Nicole Estvanik Taylor | Arts at MIT

February 21, 2024

A piano that captures the data of live performance offers the MIT community new possibilities for studying and experimenting with music.

Alex Byrne is a philosopher at MIT and the author of "Trouble with Gender."

An MIT philosopher’s call for a civil discussion on gender and sex

Benjamin Daniel | School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

February 20, 2024

In “Trouble with Gender: Sex Facts, Gender Fictions,” MIT Professor Alex Byrne argues for a return to a more inclusive brand of philosophical inquiry.

Emily Goodling is a lecturer in German in MIT Global Languages.

3 Questions: Why study theater in a German language class?

Lisa Hickler | MIT Global Languages

February 14, 2024

Using theatrical expressions of real-life situations, Emily Goodling's students study Germany's artistic response to global events.

Paloma Duong is the author of the new book, “Portable Postsocialisms: New Cuban Mediascapes after the End of History,” published by University of Texas Press.

3 Questions: Paloma Duong on the complexities of Cuban culture

Peter Dizikes | MIT News

February 14, 2024

The scholar’s new book looks at perspectives of the Cuban people through a study of online media, music, fashion, and contemporary communication.

MIT senior Anushree Chaudhuri wants to make sure the transition to cleaner technologies is not only more sustainable, but also more just.

Anushree Chaudhuri: Involving local communities in renewable energy planning

Angelina Parrillo | MIT News correspondent

February 14, 2024

As societies move to cleaner technologies, the MIT senior seeks to make the transition more sustainable and just.

“I realized that I could raise very interesting questions at the intersection of astronomy and political science,” says MIT undergraduate Leela Fredlund. Through projects at MIT and at institutions such as NASA, Fredlund has been focused on the ways governments are shaping humanity’s expanding ventures off planet.

For all humankind

Leda Zimmerman | Department of Political Science

February 13, 2024

Political science and physics major Leela Fredlund wants to ensure fairness and justice prevail in humanity's leap into space.

MIT Music and Theater Arts Assistant Professor Miguel Zenón holds his Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album.

Miguel Zenón, assistant professor of jazz at MIT, wins Grammy Award

Benjamin Daniel | School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

February 8, 2024

The renowned saxophonist won Best Latin Jazz Album along with pianist Luis Perdomo for their album, “El Arte Del Bolero Vol. 2.”

The Climate Project at MIT, a major campus-wide effort, includes new arrangements for promoting cross-Institute collaborations and new mechanisms for engaging with outside partners to speed the development and implementation of climate solutions.

3 Questions: The Climate Project at MIT

MIT News

February 8, 2024

Richard Lester describes an emerging new initiative that will back climate efforts at the Institute and find outside partnerships to drive actionable innovation.

Image from "Water Wars: Episode 2, The Eternal Swamp"

Illustrating India’s complex environmental crises

Naveen Kumar | Arts at MIT

February 7, 2024

A CAST Visiting Artist project traces the history of cause and effect that have led India to its current crossroads.

Two of MIT’s student delegates at COP28: Runako Gentles (left), an undergraduate in civil and environmental engineering (CEE), and Shiv Bhakta (right), a graduate student in the Leaders for Global Operations dual degree program within the MIT Sloan School of Management and CEE.

Reflecting on COP28 — and humanity’s progress toward meeting global climate goals

Office of the Vice President for Research

February 6, 2024

MIT delegates share observations and insights from the largest-ever UN climate conference.

MIT economist Isaiah Andrews, with colleagues, has developed tools can help policymakers, business people, and even scientists avoid a "winner's curse" in their work — the pattern in which people select programs that test well at first, but are likely to perform worse upon repetition.

How to avoid a “winner’s curse” for social programs

Peter Dizikes | MIT News

February 5, 2024

When interventions or policies perform well in studies, they may disappoint later on. An MIT economist’s tools can help planners recognize this trap.

Hiroko Matsuyama (right), a master instructor of the Ohara School of Ikebana, works with a student during an IAP course in January.

Scene at MIT: Learning ikebana during IAP

School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

February 2, 2024

Hiroko Matsuyama teaches her last course on the ancient art of Japanese flower arrangement.

MIT historian of science Robin Scheffler studies the progress of biomedical research in the U.S., including in Kendall Square and greater Boston.

A chronicler of the biotech boom

Peter Dizikes | MIT News

February 2, 2024

MIT historian of science Robin Wolfe Scheffler takes a close look at the progress of biomedical research in the U.S.

Paul Roquet (left) is a professor in MIT's Comparative Media Studies/Writing program. Per Urlaub is the director of MIT's Global Languages program.

Projects investigating Swahili, global media win SHASS Humanities Awards

Benjamin Daniel | School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

February 1, 2024

The awards offer opportunities to expand research into unique areas of scholarship.

“Her leadership style is a lot of listening; she’s willing to listen to the issues that students are experiencing and from that, she is able to offer support and advice,” says MIT senior Myles Noel of DiOnetta Jones Crayton.

DiOnetta Jones Crayton: Change-maker at MIT

Elizabeth Durant | Office of the Vice Chancellor

February 1, 2024

For 14 years, Crayton has strengthened programs and created new ones that foster academic success, provide mentoring, prepare students for careers or graduate school, and build community.

Mohammed Yahia (left) was widely admired for his work advancing the status of science journalism in the Middle East and throughout Africa.

New fellowship to help advance science journalism in Africa and the Middle East

Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT

January 31, 2024

The Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT announces a new one-semester fellowship to start in fall 2024.

Senior Charles Williams, a computer engineering major, works on pieces he says depict stressors he was experiencing. “This class breathes back into you the creative and artistic expression that is too often lost as we grow up and mature,” he says.

Opening the doorway to drawing

Nicole Estvanik Taylor | School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

January 28, 2024

In the new interdisciplinary course 21A.513 (Drawing Human Experience), students look within themselves for artistic inspiration.

As a graduate student, Fatima Husain studies the fossil and genetic records of ancient and modern life forms to better understand the history of life on Earth.

Unlocking history with geology and genetics

Olivia Young | Office of Graduate Education

January 25, 2024

PhD student Fatima Husain investigates the co-evolution of life and Earth and works to communicate science to the public.

Senior Tatum Wilhelm is majoring in chemical engineering and minoring in anthropology. "I value being able to look at very technical scientific problems from a humanities lens, and I think it has enhanced my learning in both disciplines," she says.

Rowing in the right direction

Danna Lorch | School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

January 23, 2024

Senior and MIT Crew member Tatum Wilhelm balances her chemical engineering and anthropology studies with early mornings on the Charles River.

Left to right: Gavin Off, Adam Wagner, Ruth McElheny, Victor McElheny, Cathy Clabby, and Deborah Blum pose during a Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT McElheny Award ceremony.

Award shines a spotlight on local science journalism

Benjamin Daniel | School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

January 22, 2024

The Knight Science Journalism Program’s Victor K. McElheny Award honors outstanding local and regional journalists’ reporting on science, public health, tech, and the environment.

Josh Angrist welcomes attendees to the Charter School Research Collaborative Kickoff.

Blueprint Labs launches a charter school research collaborative

Talia Gerstle | Amanda Schmidt | Blueprint Labs

January 19, 2024

Collaborative brings together charter school policy, practice, and research communities to help make research on charters more actionable, rigorous, and policy-relevant.

Some of the students who attended the recent FLI Week of Celebration events gathered for a group photo in their red FLI sweatshirts, designed to build greater awareness of first-generation and/or low-income identities.

The art of being FLI

Elizabeth Durant | Office of the Vice Chancellor

January 17, 2024

The MIT First Generation/Low Income Program provides undergraduates with community, resources, and support as they navigate MIT.

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